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Sunday, December 8, 2013

Osaka: Part 3

Two hours in Dotonbori..The Naba district has plenty to offer.And if you ever land in this part of Osaka, chill out at the Dotonbori district.We took a short walk across the road and found ourselves at a public walkway mall.It has a covered roof just like the one in Shijo-Dori in Kyoto, but this one's 10 times the size.Michelle told me that there is a canal in the area where river cruises are offered.We made our way to one of the busy lanes and found a Malaysian restaurant called "Kenny Asia" serving Malaysian food such as Hainanese Chicken Rice, Char Koay Teow, Hor fun, Nasi Goreng and this place is "pork-free" (claims to be Halal on their website).I checked out the menu and found that a plate of Char Koay Teow costs 880 Yen (RM28).As we were leaving, a lady came out, she spoke to us in Japanese.And then she asked: "Are you from Malaysia?" and I said: "Yes".We didn't come all the way to Osaka for Char Koay Teow and politely made our exit.

If you missed home, this place can cure your homesickness

Kenny's restaurant in Dotobori

Osaka's finest entertainment districtThere's no doubt that Dotonbori has plenty to offer - especially for tourists.You will find food, videogame arcades and shops dotted along this area.We found some really cool places and were really astonished to see a queue in front of a Takoyaki storeSo, taking the lead from the crowd, I lined-up and waited for my turn.A small serving costs 480 Yen (RM15.10) and I gladly lined-up for my turn to savour the octopus dumpling.And as predicted, it was good!

Takoyaki at the assembly line..

Customers waiting for their turn after placing an order..

It's good!

Even Michelle agrees!

We walked around the canal area and snapped some photos of the area.It appears to me that I was standing right in front of the iconic Glico neon sign in Dotonbori.The flow of visitors to the area was non-stop.Later, we made our way towards a restaurant offering Donburi (Japanes rice bowl) and places such as Sukiya and Yoshinoya are quite common around town.We found a small restaurant that offers Gyudon and asked for help from one of the waiters to place an order through an electronic vending machine.You can select what you want, pay and it shoots out a ticket.Michelle did most of the talking as I made myself comfortable for our late lunch...

Place your order here..

The simple lunch

Michelle at the counter

The Doburi staff at work.

After a good fill, we continued to walk around the Dotonbori area.We went to Daimaru because Michelle wanted to use the washroom.I just wanted a place to sit down as my feet were hurting.So, we went up to the sports section of the Department store..

The iconic Glico man

Dotonbori in full swing

Tern bicycles offered in Daimaru Department store

The Eclipse P9

It felt good to give the feet a rest.We found some really interesting stuff at the sports department.At the Samsonite luggage section, we were served by a real polite salesgirl, and she actually took the trouble to show us some of the luggage at no obligation.Back in Malaysia, nobody gives a fuck.So, we made our way to the bicycle section and lo and behold! We found a few Tern bicycles on sale.One that caught my attention was the Tern Eclipse P9 being sold at 82.500 Yen (RM2,592).After doing a review for BaikBike, I got fucked from some "dealers" for quoting the "wrong" price at RM2.8K.Those greedy dealers have jacked up the price by another RM1K to RM3.8K, citing matters like "not taking business away from Singapore". Really? I actually told off the K2 Asia guy who said the mispriced bike may spark a misunderstanding among the dealers in Malaysia.So much for being nice and trying to spread the good word.Seeing how much the Eclipse P9 was priced at a Department store, well, I rest my case.I think with the truth told, some fellas who read this blog might just copy the photo and shove up the dealer's face..We've had a blast at Dotonbori and headed back to Osaka City station to check in at our room..